


Thane Smut Week

by quiet_one



Series: Smut [6]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Smut, Thane smut week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-08
Updated: 2012-10-15
Packaged: 2017-11-15 21:52:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/532166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quiet_one/pseuds/quiet_one
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Here's my collected contributions to Thane Smut Week over on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Rain

The rain of Kahje had become infinitely more pleasurable now that Thane was kissing her, his tongue warm in her mouth. 

He held her tightly against him and after a moment she forgot all about her wet feet, the drip down the back of her neck and the chill that had settled over her. All she could feel was him holding her firm and the hazy tendrils of his venom starting to pulse through her blood. He was delicious, and the more he gave her the more she wanted.

Thane was the one to break the kiss in the end, looking down at her and touching his thumb to her bottom lip. “Perhaps you would like to go somewhere slightly warmer Siha, you are soaked to the bone.”

Shepard couldn’t help smiling at the analogy, knowing she was already wet for him and aching for him to do something about that. 

“That sounds like a good idea,” she said breathlessly, taking his hand and stumbling back towards the domed city. The ground looked further away than it was and the colours had picked up an intensity that hadn’t been there before she’d kissed him, leaving her to wonder why she’d thought Kahje dull.

Under the influence of a drell it was beautiful, if a little uneven beneath her feet. Thane caught her stumble, once, twice, then with a slight grunt he lifted her up into his arms and carried her until they reached the path.

Still the rain fell and Shepard opened her mouth to catch it as she lolled on his shoulder, licking her lips at the unfamiliar taste. She saw Thane glance down at her before setting her carefully down and guiding her back into the city with one arm tight around her waist.

“I did warn you about the rain,” Thane rumbled once they were back inside the city. He hadn’t even bothered to try, accepting that he would simply get wet through. Shepard, meanwhile, had decided to buy expensive waterproofs even though they were essentially useless on somewhere like Kahje. It also meant that she was trapped in layers of sodden clothing.

They reached the small house they had rented and Shepard stood fumbling at her coat with numb hands, venom and the cold making it almost impossible to find the zip. She was about to give up when Thane intervened, unzipping it smoothly and hanging it up carefully.

He watched her slip off her thermal fleece then raised an eyebrow at her as she sat down on the stairs and tried valiantly to undo the buckles of her boots.

“Allow me,” he said, amusement evident in his voice. He removed the boots easily then turned his attention to her ridiculous water proof trousers. They had failed to do their job, leaving the trousers underneath plastered to her body.

Shepard had laid her head back on the stairs, trying to regain some semblance of control, when she felt Thane’s fingers on her waistband. He was warm against her chilled flesh and she couldn’t help shivering as slid his fingers along her stomach before undoing her top button.

He paused for a moment and Shepard closed her eyes, unable to stop herself from moaning as his hands moved lower. Then he stopped.

Her wet trousers weren’t giving an inch and Shepard moved to pull them down, finding them stuck to her skin and squirming with effort. Thane watched her move then took hold of the waistband and yanked as hard as he could, taking her underwear with it. 

Shepard tried to kick her trousers off as the cold started to bite into her damp skin, making it as far as her ankles before Thane stopped her and pressed her back down onto the stairs. The wood was cold underneath her and she shifted, glancing up at Thane to find that he had hooked her tethered legs behind him.

She felt a rush of desire, knowing he had her trapped and that she was naked exactly where she wanted him to touch her. Thane pressed a slow kiss to her mouth then parted her legs with his strong hands and left warm kisses up her thigh, his hands forcing her wider.

He looked up at her with those dark eyes of his then, with deliberate slowness, he pressed his warm mouth to her wet flesh, licking up her folds with a broad sweep of his tongue.  
He paused then licked again, harder this time, lapping into her until she arched her back against the stairs and cried his name. His venom started its effect on her delicate red skin, a flourish of sensation that amplified every movement of his hot mouth on her pussy. 

She could feel nothing except his mouth moving against her and the tingling that was spreading over every inch of her skin, his saliva dripping down her skin as she lifted her hips to greet him. 

He ate into her greedily, one hand tracing up her stomach and under the wet fabric of her top to find her breast. He found her nipple and pinched it between his fingers, growling as she stuttered his name out. She was so close, her orgasm curling its way through her muscles with butterfly twitches of heat.

Shepard laid her head back, opening her legs and urging him on. 

Thane sat back, withdrew his hands and watched her. The loss of his touch was wrenching and she let out a broken gasp of disappointment, feeling the chill creeping up on her again. 

“You still look cold, Siha,” he rasped, laying one hand on her leg. 

“I was getting warmer until a second ago,” she gasped, hearing the desperation tinge her voice. He was torturing her and he knew it. “If you get me out of these wet clothes I could find a way to get warm again.”

“I prefer you like this,” Thane said, trailing his hands up her legs and giving her a chaste kiss as his fingers started to wander along her crotch.

Shepard kicked her legs in another bid to get her trousers off, hitching one of her knees up only for Thane to stop her.

“You have so little patience,” he said simply, slipping his fused fingers inside her. She cried out, burying her head in his damp shoulder, and biting down on the fabric as he moved his fingers out over her clit then back inside her. This time he put three of his fingers in and she whimpered his name, widening her legs as far as her wet clothes would allow,  
His free hand started to draw lazy circles over her clit and Shepard felt the heat rush through her again, lost in the slick slide of his fingers against her. He knew exactly where to touch her, his perfect memory leaving her utterly helpless when he used it in this way.

Her orgasm rose again and she clenched around him, lifting her hips only for him to withdraw his touch again.

“Thane! Don’t fucking stop again!” she burst out, staring up at him with lust bordering on hatred. He smiled and without a second thought Shepard bit him hard on his neck just below the sensitive red ribs, hearing his sharp intake of breath and feeling a stab of satisfaction.

“That’s hardly fair Siha,” Thane said, pulling back and looking at her with a wounded expression. 

Shepard didn’t care. Her biotics crackled into life and she raised her hands ready to grab hold of him, laughter rising in her throat. 

Thane jumped back, landing in a perfect crouch a few metres away as his hand started to glow blue in response. “I have you at a disadvantage,” he growled, remaining perfectly still.

She didn’t wait for a reply, throwing a burst of energy at him then leaping up from the stairs only to find that her damned trousers gave her less movement than she would have liked. She made it two strides before realising something was very wrong, coming to a halt and looking round.

The hall was empty. There was nothing but shadows and silence.

Shepard took the chance to wrench her trousers off at last, throwing them on the floor then listening carefully. She had absolutely no hope of catching him and he knew that. It was just a matter of time.

She turned and went upstairs to the large bedroom where their bed remained unmade in the centre of the room, sheets still tangled and the pillows thrown on the floor. With a last glance round the dark room Shepard peeled her clothes off and jumped in.

Burying beneath the sheets she stretched and gave a small moan, running her hands down her stomach and down her aching flesh to find the source of her discomfort. All she wanted was to come now and if wasn’t going to give her that she would have to do it herself.

She moved her fingers over her wet skin, found the nub of her clit and sighed with relief. She retraced Thane’s fingers, arching her back and digging her hips into the mattress. The bed dipped suddenly and a hand grabbed her wrist through the blanket, pinning it over her head.

She couldn’t help the disappointed sigh that escaped her lips, attempting to pull the cover down off her head only to have her other hand pinned. Cold air touched her legs as the cover was peeled back from her feet upwards, uncovering her up to her hips.

“Thane, I swear if you do this again I will not be…”

Her legs were forced apart and she felt warm flesh teasing at her pussy, parting her folds with a practised thrust before surging up into her.

She felt every ridge of him slip into her, her hips rising to greet him as he moved without mercy and claimed every inch of her aching flesh.

It felt like she had waited forever for this and her need tore through her, whimpering as he slammed his hips into her over and over. The orgasm she’d been chasing caught her in a blinding white clench, her biotics shining bright through the blankets as they surged with the force of her orgasm.

The cover was pulled back from her face and she saw Thane, his eyes reflecting the afterglow. He moved inside her again, lowered his mouth to hers and claimed her mouth again as he came with a swallowed cry. His biotics flared a brilliant blue, lighting the room and reminding Shepard momentarily of her room back on board the Normandy.

She shoved the thought away and clung to Thane, feeling the aftershocks run through him and into her. He always had her at a disadvantage, stealing her heart and now her body. Once he was gone they would still belong to him and nothing would ever change that, not the reapers or the Alliance. She had finally found something that was all hers.

She shivered against him and Thane moved to curl her against him, trilling as he ran his fingers down her neck and spine.

“Are you still cold, Siha?” he asked, his voice heavy with sleep.

“Not anymore.”

She burrowed into his warmth, sighing as sleep fell over them in the darkness.


	2. Pants

She could hardly breathe as he kissed her, dragging her forwards over the table and claiming her mouth with his own. It set every inch of her on fire, her heart beating out a fevered tattoo of lust.

Thane reached one of his hands into the collar of her shirt, rubbed his fingertips over her collarbone then up behind her ear before grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling her closer.

She gave a moan, felt his throb of noise in return, and without another thought she scrambled up over the desk to press herself against him. 

It was exactly as she’d imagined, every inch of his body hard against her and his skin rippling like water beneath her fingertips, all of it driving her into a state of desperate need. She had to feel him inside her, ached to know the sway of his hips and the torturous push of flesh easing into flesh.

“Thane,” Shepard murmured, breaking the kiss to nibble gently along the red skin of his neck. “I want you.”

He looked at her with those bright dark eyes of his, so entirely different from her own and weighed her up as though trying to judge the seriousness of her intent. 

“Please, don’t make me beg,” she whispered, not entirely sure if this would be a bad thing. She’d beg if he wanted her to, right there on her knees. 

Instead he drew her into another kiss, deep enough to leave her gasping as he laid her down on the desk then started to undo his buckles, unzipping his outfit and dropping it to his knees. 

What she saw there made her struggle to prop herself up on her elbows, half out of curiousity and half out of apprehension. He was much bigger than anybody else she’d slept with and his cock was adorned with ridges that ran across its length at irregular intervals. She wanted to know how it would feel inside her.

Shepard struggled to get her trousers undone, pulling them down then sitting on the cold metal of the desk.

Thane raised one hand to her face then looked curiously down at the hair at the juncture of her thighs. He knelt down before her, parted her lips with his fingers and with just the tip of his tongue he memorised every line of her, dipping his tongue inside her then pushing one finger inside.

It wasn’t enough, she had to have more. She gave a frustrated groan and sat up, pulling him up so that she could kiss him again. 

His mouth was wet, his lips sliding across her own as he stood closer and curved his hips towards her, the warmth of his legs sliding across her thighs as he prepared to…

“Shepard? Shepard?”

She struggled up out of the covers and stared around the room, breath coming in short bursts. She was wet, horny as hell and all alone, apart from EDI.

“What is it EDI?” Shepard snapped, flopping back down and covering her eyes. Even if she did get back to sleep there was no way she of resuming her dream, dammit.

“Sere Krios has asked to speak with you.”

She thought of his skin beneath her fingers, felt herself aching for him. “I…what does he want?”

“I didn’t ask. Shall I tell him you are on your way?”

“No…yes. I’ll be there as soon as I’m dressed.”

“Understood. May I ask you a question?”

“Go on,” Shepard said, getting slowly to her feet and pulling her clothes on, the same clothes she’d been wearing in her dream.

“You were calling Thane’s name in your sleep. You seemed agitated. Is there anything wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong,” Shepard muttered, checking her hair in the mirror. It looked ridiculous but she couldn’t be bothered trying to tame it just now. “I was having a dream about him, it was interesting.”

“Define interesting.”

“Ask Joker, he can probably show you examples,” she said, smiling as she left the room and walked slowly into the elevator. She still felt half asleep, her body still held in thrall to the imaginary Thane she’d conjured up. He hadn’t been on her crew very long and already she was having these inappropriate thoughts about him.

Not only was he dying but she had no reason he’d ever looked outside of his species for companionship in that regard, and no reason why he’d look at her. She was scarred, battle weary and slightly scary to those who didn’t know her.

Shepard reached life support and walked straight in, finding herself stood at the desk opposite Thane. He had reached across and grabbed her with those hands of his, fingers slipping on her skin and his tongue in her mouth…

“Shepard?”

“Oh, Thane, yes. EDI said you wanted to talk to me,” she managed, feeling her face heat up as she looked at him. 

He frowned slightly, tucking his hands behind his back as he looked at her.

“You asked me if I could find anything of use from my old contacts.”

Shepard shifted her weight from foot to foot, rubbing her neck and trying not to look at his buckles. “Yes, I did. And did they find anything?”

“They did, my associates have managed to find me an upgrade for the probe bay, I can forward the details to you if you wish.”

“The probe bay,” Shepard repeated, closing her eyes and trying extremely hard not to imagine herself half naked on the desk in front of him, her thighs parted as he moved between them. She gave the tiniest moan and started rubbing at her eyes.

“Shepard, are you well? Is there anything I can do?” Thane asked, his voice dropping low with concern. He made as if to step round the desk and Shepard jumped backwards.

“No! No, thank you. That’s perfect, you’ve given me everything I needed. I’d best…” she shuffled towards the door, gesturing over her shoulder. “I’d best go. Thanks again, for the probes. Bye.”

Shepard waited until the door was shut before letting out a scream of frustration that echoed through the mess hall. He was going to think she was crazy at best, exactly what she didn’t want him thinking if she was ever going to have sex with him.

At the rate she was going she was never going to have sex with anyone ever again and with her near certain death looming up the thought was depressing. Perhaps she could ask Garrus for a mercy fuck. 

The thought of his face when she asked was enough to make her laugh out loud and she decided to return to her quarters before Chakwas certified her for finally cracking. She was Captain of the Normandy, saviour of the citadel, first human spectre. She could damn well find her way into Thane’s pants.


	3. Fire

He’d seen the look on her face throughout the entire mission, knew exactly what she was asking for. Every time he found himself next to her in battle she would take care to press herself against him just a little, sometimes meeting his eyes and making her wishes obvious.

He’d never seen her like this before. Shepard was a master of the battlefield, unswerving in her commitment to what was before her and devastating in her execution. Now she seemed unfocussed, her shots finding the targets as if by chance as she struck out blindly at anything that moved. 

Thane knew he was the reason for it and he felt it across every inch of his skin as she looked at him, the desire burning brightly in her fire kissed eyes.

It was a relief when they finally made it back on board the shuttle and collapsed down next to each other, Shepard’s thigh pressed against his own. There in the darkness such distraction was unlikely to cost lives and it set him quivering with the thought of what was to come. 

The moment they docked she was out and striding fiercely back to her room, not even bothering to check if he was following her. She knew he would follow, knew he would do whatever she asked of him. She stared straight ahead, saying nothing, as they entered the elevator and she maintained her silence until the doors of her quarters closed behind them and left them utterly alone.

“Please Thane.”

He closed the gap in a split second, crushed his lips to hers and claimed her mouth with a ferocity that drew blood, the iron tang seeping into his mouth. If she noticed it only served to drive her higher, a moan tearing from her throat as he scooped her up and put her on the desk.

She started tugging at his suit and he returned the favour, watching her expressions as he pulled her armour free. She was focussed entirely on him, her bruised lips parted and a smear of blood across her cheek from some forgotten foe, a creature of blood and glory that would remain imprinted in his memory forever.

She said his name again and drew her legs up to reveal the slit in her undersuit, her flesh gaping red and wet against the black fabric. It was an invitation to enter her and he took it, ploughing gladly into her wet flesh and driving himself in to the hilt.

“Please Thane,” Shepard whispered, clamping her legs around him and using one hand to prop herself up as he started thrusting violently, knocking things off the desk as he rocked into her with utter abandon. 

He felt his control slip at the feel of her around him, the begging tone of her voice and the heat of her flesh yielding to him, his discipline failing him for the first time in years.   
Thane grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head up to his, forcing his lips to hers as he thrust into her fragile human flesh without remorse. He sought only to take her as he wished, to capture the fire of her and lose himself in it.

Shepard gave a low cry and clenched around him, holding him firm inside of her as he felt the energy rolling across his skin and their barriers flaring into life. There was only her and the light blinding him, setting every inch of his skin afire as the energy from their orgasm built into a storm.

With a last cry it exploded outwards, popping the screen of Shepard’s console and knocking out every electrical item in the room, leaving them in darkness.

“Is…is that what you wanted Siha?”

She was slumped against him, her breath loud in the silence. After a moment the lights flickered back on and Shepard leant back on the ruin of her desk with a wide smile.

“Who says I’m done yet?”


	4. door

She was still heavy with sleep as she stumbled out of bed, the floor uncomfortably cold beneath the soles of her feet. Thane was already awake and from the look he gave her she knew he was in one of those moods, his mouth twitching into a smile.

“Did you sleep well, my Siha?”

He knew the answer already. Shepard had passed out when they were still joined and her muscles were aching from the pounding he’d given her last night after they returned from a mission. He had been on something of a high, swept up in the bloodlust of the battle and bursting with pent up rage.

Shepard shrugged, her brain slow to respond. “I think so.”

She gave a loud yawn, stretched her hands up above her head and padded off across the room to get a shower, muttering under her breath. Usually she had no trouble getting out bed but today Thane had addled her mind, leaving her dozy and slightly grumpy. 

The hot shower eased away the last vestiges of sleep and she stepped from the bathroom refreshed, noticing the empty bed just as the hum of biotics filled the air.

A blue force field enveloped her, yanking her off her feet and slamming her into the door. The impact knocked the breath from her, stole the shout from her lungs and left her reeling. 

Before she could move to steady herself Thane sprang from his hiding place and grabbed her wrists, pivoting her neatly then pinning her face first against the freezing cold metal of the door. 

Shepard gave a growl and tried to stamp on his bare feet, feeling her towel finally drop to the floor. 

“You should never let your guard down, Siha. There are those who would take advantage of you,” Thane murmured in her ear, pressing himself against her back and nudging her legs apart.

“So you’re doing this…for my own good?” Shepard panted, leaning her forehead against the door and closing her eyes. She could feel every inch of Thane’s arousal on her back and the memory of last night still haunted her with a low ache that was turning into a burning throb.

Still, she didn’t want him to have it all his way.

“You could say that,” Thane mused, using his free hand to trail along the curve of her ass. “Though I prefer to think of it as honing your already impressive skills.”

“Impressive?” 

Shepard sucked in her breath and brought her barrier up, kicking out behind her with all the force she could muster.

He was ready for her, lifting her off the floor and scooping her upwards to drop her onto his cock with a grunt of pleasure. He gave her no opportunity to adjust to his size, her sore flesh seared open to him and his bidding.

Shepard couldn’t help the moan that escaped her, feeling herself lifted upwards on the surge of his hips and pushed against the door with no means of escape.

He thrust again and Shepard wriggled her hips, realising with a groan that this position offered her no release from the lust that bit into her. He still held her hands tight against the door and his other arm was holding her flush against him to prevent a repeat of her escape attempt.

Thane lifted her again, driving into her with a sliding thrust that left her crying out in frustration. His chest was filled with a throbbing growl as he fucked her fast and hard against the door, taking his fill of pleasure from her. 

Shepard felt him twitch inside her, felt his breath hot on her neck, and with a guttural cry Thane came, lifting her up with a blinding flash.

The instant her feet touched the floor Shepard twisted off him, pushing him backwards with as much force as she dared. Though he was the hardest person in the universe to kill his mortality was never in question and it stung her to think of this creature being at the mercy of a mere lung disease.

“Thane, what the hell…”

“Shepard?” EDI’s voice cut through her irritation. “Jacob has been waiting for you for the last ten minutes.”

Shepard looked at the smirk on Thane’s face and knew that he’d done this deliberately, knowing that she would have no time to retaliate.

“You know you’re going to pay for this later,” she murmured, brushing her lips against the red velvet skin at his neck before pushing past him.

“I’m counting on it,” he replied, still breathless. He sat down on the edge of the bed and watched her dress, his eyes never leaving the inviting curves of her body. 

Once she was kitted out in full armour Shepard paused and turned to look at him, biting her bottom lip as she looked at him still naked and waiting for her. “I’ll be thinking about you,” she said simply, going over and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

“And I you,” Thane replied, running his fingers across her jaw. 

Shepard nodded and left, feeling the raw ache of him between her legs every step of the way.


	5. Thread

The last thing Shepard saw before the explosion hit her was the bright flash of her biotics, a purple gleam spiralling into darkness as the world shifted violently around her. She wanted to call out a warning but the air was knocked from her lungs.

Then there was only darkness.

The first time she scrambled back up to consciousness it was to wonder where the hell she was. There was nothing but blackness and the stifling heat, her entire body rendered immobile by an unseen crushing pressure. Shepard used her last gasp of energy to bring her biotics to life and in the faint glow she saw nothing but debris pressing down on her from all sides, dust whirling through the pocket of air around her head.

The cost of using her biotics made her head swim and as they guttered out she thought she heard the faintest of voices before spiralling back down into unconsciousness.

The next time she woke there was the distinct sound of movement, the harsh scrape of rocks followed by clouds of dust falling on her face. She tried to shake it from her dry lips only make it worse as the debris shifted around her face and rolled closer, pressing against her cheek.

She’d been trained for so many things but right now, alone with the very real threat of death, all of her discipline abandoned her. She had no wish to die again now she had so much to live for, gasping out her last breaths in suffocating darkness.

His face was bright in her memory and before she could stop herself his name was on her lips, a croak of misery that burnt in her dry throat.

“Thane.”

They had become close over the last few months, closer than she dared to admit even to herself. Her entire life had been marked by a trail of corpses and precious few relationships, each of which had taken a back seat to her work. She was a soldier and she had a job to do, everything else seemed extraneous.

But Thane had entered her life, dipped in sunshine, and for the first time she felt as though there were something beyond her work. She was fighting for everyone’s future, including her own and somehow, without her noticing, Thane had become a part of that.

He was the first thing she thought of in the morning and the last thing in her head before she fell asleep. She thought of his face when he described Irikah and the pain that had been clearly written across it, of the brightness in his eyes when he called her Siha for the first time.

She had pretended to herself that this wasn’t love, not yet, but lying there realising that she would never see him again the ache in her chest told her that she’d been lying to herself. She loved him, more than she’d ever expected or hoped to love anyone, and the thought of leaving him now she’d found him drove a wedge of pain deep into her heart.

The debris shifted again and Shepard gasped, trying in vain to move her head as she felt dust rain down on her and a peppering of stones across her forehead. The pressure in her legs increased and she gave a cry, arching against the restraints in a last desperate thrash.

A voice sounded somewhere close and she realised with a jolt that it was Garrus just as the space closed in on her. Her mouth filled with rubble before she could close it, the taste bitter on her tongue, and dust filled her nostrils.

There was no air and no scream of a hard suit alarm. This time she would die with her best friend within earshot, lost beneath the darkness with no hope of returning again. And what about Thane? Would he speak of her with a similar look of pain, another Siha wrenched from him?

Light flashed through the air, colours bleeding in through her eyelids and for a second she was weightless, limbs finally free of the crushing pain.

Then she felt herself hit the ground and with a retching gasp she opened her eyes to find herself confronted by Miranda, Jack, Garrus and Thane.

“Siha!” Thane was at her side in an instant, his smooth hands stroking the hair back from her face. All she could do was choke, curled over on the floor as the light and air overwhelmed her.

Clouds of dust erupted in front of her and she spat the stones out from between her teeth with a hard bark of a cough that did nothing to wipe the look of relief from everyone’s face.

“Let’s get you back to the Normandy,” Miranda ordered, bringing up her omni-tool and ordering an immediate evac.

Shepard nodded, her eyes streaming with tears as she sought to clear the dust from them, and slumped against the welcome form of Thane. His hands never left her, tracing the line of her neck and wiping the dust from her face whilst holding her tightly against him.

She was, perhaps, the happiest she’d ever been.

“Are you ready to move?” he asked her, taking one of her arms and draping it over his shoulder.

Shepard gave another cough, her body shaking with the effort and made to get to her feet. She didn’t trust herself to speak yet, was worried by the things that were welling up in her and the effect they might have. Instead she allowed Thane to support her back to the shuttle, her breath wheezing in her ears.

By the time they’d made it back to the Normandy she felt almost normal again, save for the acrid taste in her mouth and the strain of her lungs, but Chakwas insisted on checking her over thoroughly. Thane remained at her side the entire time, blinking rapidly as the doctor ran through her assessments and pronounced the Captain to be remarkably unscathed.

Neither of them spoke as they left the Med Bay and Shepard realised Thane was just as preoccupied as she was, his eyes set straight ahead as he accompanied her back to her quarters.

He looked nervous, his eyes fluttering as he guided her into her room and stopped by the door, primed for flight.

Shepard found her voice at last.

“I’m going to wash this off, don’t go anywhere.”

He nodded and turned his back to her, pacing away across the room. He was sitting on the edge of the bed when she emerged, propping his face up with his hands and watching her without expression. As she drew closer to him he reached out for her, running his fingers over the red marks that were starting to appear on her skin, the only tangible sign that barely an hour ago she had been trapped beneath tonnes of rubble awaiting her death.

Thane lifted his eyes to hers and a low rumble started in his throat, his hands drawing back from her.

“I almost lost you,” he murmured, his back hunching as he stared at the floor. “I wasn’t fast enough to reach you, all I could do was watch as you fell. Your eyes open wide with fear, you glow beneath the curtain of falling darkness. And then you are gone.”

“I’m not gone,” Shepard rasped, dropping to her knees in front of him and raising one hand to his face. She ran her fingers over the curves she found there, seeking to commit him to her memory and regretting every second she had wasted by not telling him the truth.

“Thane,” she whispered, taking his face in her hands. His low growl became a trill of distress, his hands clutching onto hers and removing them from his face as he shook his head.

“I failed you Shepard, I have no right to call you my Siha. I am unworthy of such a creature as you.”

“I love you,” she said, rocking back on her heels and looking at him. She had given those words to no-one, they were for him alone. “I love you.”

Thane froze, his grip loosening. Shepard took the chance to press herself against his chest, sliding her arms around him and closing her eyes as she buried her face in his neck. His skin was soft against hers and she gave a small moan as she nuzzled her lips against the red ridges of his neck, eager to drink him in.

He folded his arms around her waist and she trailed her warm kisses up the side of his neck and up to his face, kissing away the tears that had fallen then pressing her lips to his.

Thane’s rumble of pleasure vibrated through her lips, his mouth opening to hers with a throb that she felt in her toes. She needed to feel him against her, desire for him laying her bare.

She touched her tongue to his and he pulled her closer, his venom starting its dance through her veins as she claimed his mouth with her own. Her fingers found the fastenings of his suit and she started tugging at them, slipping her hand inside the fabric of his suit and trailing her hands across his scales.

“Siha,” Thane panted, pressing his hands to hers. “I’m not…I don’t think…”

“When I was trapped down there all I could think about was you,” Shepard burst out in frustration, yanking at his zip. “About how I’d wasted my time not telling you how I feel about you when we have so little time left, about all the things I should have said. I love you and I don’t expect you to feel the same, but please…I need you. I want you. Please don’t push me away.”

“Why would you not expect me to feel the same way?” he asked, taking her hands and turning her palms upwards. “I love you, my Siha. How could I not?”

He pressed his lips to her palms and kissed each in turn before kissing her gently on the mouth.

Shepard felt a sob rise in her throat and she broke away to pepper his face with butterfly kisses, pressing herself against him as though she would never let go.

She was unrestrained in her greed for him, pulling at his clothes and whimpering when he returned the favour by pulling down the trousers of her thin sleepwear. She rose to her feet, stripped off, and pushed him backwards on the bed to straddle him.

Now they were both frantic, scrambling at his clothes in a bid to finally press themselves together with nothing in the way. Thane undid the clips and Shepard pulled his suit down over his hips, hopping down off the bed to strip him of his remaining garments. He was waiting for her, dragging her into his arms and pulling her up the bed where they lay face to face, tangled in each other’s limbs.

His tongue was warm in her mouth, his hands slipping over her skin as he touched every inch of her.

Shepard trembled as he trailed down between her thighs, his fingertips moving slowly over her wet skin before dipping slowly inside her. She jerked her hips forwards and felt his cock brush against her, pressing herself against the heat of his erection.

She longed for him, wanted to feel the comfort of his touch and the rush of him inside her, reminding her she was alive and with him. Thane was the pounding of her blood in her ears and the bright spark of ecstasy that span through her, a rising tide of desire that only sought to lift her higher.

With a quiet sigh she turned her back to his chest and lifted her leg up over his hips, opening herself to him.

Thane pressed himself up into her and she reached down with a trembling hand to touch the slide of his skin as he moved in and out of her, fingertips tracing the ridges of his shaft until she could no longer tell where he ended and she began.

He found her wet fingertips with his hand, pressed them to the stretched gape of her pussy and moved his fingers between the splay of hers to touch the wanting ache of her flesh.

She couldn’t help but arch against him, tilting her head towards his and kissing him. He moved like silk against her, the slight drag of his scales as he withdrew only intensifying the pleasure.

He thrust with aching gentleness, his lips never leaving hers, and Shepard pressed herself tighter, unwilling to let the moment end. She was so close, colours whispering through her and the tight ache blooming into a wave of abandon.

“I love you,” she stuttered into his mouth, hips rocking against his.

“I love you Siha,” he replied, his voice the last thread.

Shepard felt herself arch, felt the warmth spread throughout her entire body as she came with a long, clenching, sigh that Thane returned, his hips shifting against her one last time.

In the quiet that followed Shepard heard only the sound of her heartbeat and the low thrum of Thane as he clutched her tightly against him, his breath warm on her neck. She had fallen through the stars to find him and now, lying in the cradle of his arms, every moment seemed worth it.


	6. Watch

He awoke, the coldness signalling to him that she was no longer there beside him. He cast out one arm to search for her, slid his fingers across chilly sheets and found only the smallest traces of warmth there beside him.

It was unusual that he hadn’t noticed, he mused, though he knew that his treatment for Keprals had left him slightly slower of late.

Thane lifted his head from the pillow and looked slowly around the room, his gaze flitting through the moonlight to find her.

She stood in the doorway, silver skinned and unmoving, a tremulous ghost of half-light.

“Shepard?”

“I was watching you sleep,” she admitted, leaning against the doorway. “I’m sorry if that sounds odd.”

“Not at all. Please come back to bed, it is cold without you.”

“I will, in a minute. I hardly ever get to see you like this. I hardly ever get to see you,” she said softly, her face creasing with a slight frown.

The war had taken her away from him for increasing periods of time and there was no sign of a let up in sight, not now her home planet had been taken from her. He knew the thought was eating away at her, taking his Siha on a journey throughout the Galaxy in a bid to take it back again. It also took her away from his side.

Once Keprals had been the deciding factor. Now it was the Reapers and their unstoppable march through the stars, closing in on them with every second that passed.

“Then come back to bed,” he pleaded, holding out one of his hands to her.

Still she hesitated, though he saw her feet twitch forward.

“Not yet. I get distracted when I’m next to you and I want to remember you like this.”

“If I promise not to distract you will you come back to bed?”

“That’s a promise you can’t keep Krios,” she laughed, finally giving in and walking slowly back towards the bed. But instead of clambering back in next to him she scrambled up the foot of the bed and sat cross legged at his feet, still completely naked.

She had a refreshing attitude towards nudity and Thane found that he enjoyed it, having ample opportunity to study her naked body and memorise it for when she was away. Every time he saw her there were new marks and it pained him to think of what she was going through without him there at her side. At least there was still the opportunity to be with her sometime in the future now his Keprals had been cured, though he was still unfit for battle. The only problem was her.

He allowed himself no doubts as to her ability to defeat the Reapers. What he did allow himself was the fact that Shepard seemed to be drawing away from him, a subtle shift in her that left him wondering what words she was leaving unsaid.

“Siha,” Thane said, drawing himself up into a sitting position opposite her. “Is there a reason you, of all people, are lying awake on your only night of shore leave? If I recall correctly you said that you wished to sleep for a thousand years the next time you had shore leave. And here we are, awake.”

She sighed and rested her elbows on her legs, twitching her toes before looking up at him. “Sleeping feels like a waste of time, especially when I’m with you.”

“Ah. So what else did you have in mind?”

“What did I say about distractions Krios?”

“My apologies. What chaste activities did you have in mind?” he said apologetically, pulling the covers up around his waist.

“Now I feel like an idiot,” she muttered, grinning at him. “I did want to tell you how much I love you, but you’re making me feel stupid.”

“I would be happy to hear how much you love me,” Thane murmured, his voice dropping low. He loved to hear her say it, loved the rush of feeling in his chest at hearing those words. “Perhaps you could tell me what it is you love about me?”

Shepard bit her lip as she looked at him, her expression changing from one of amusement to seriousness.

She shuffled closer and took hold of his hands, laying them down on the blankets in from of them.

“I love the way you say my name when I see you again. I love the feel of your hands in mine. I love coming back to you and finding you whole again,” she whispered.

She took one of her hands from his and traced the scar that ran down the centre of his chest, a scar that was there because of her. Without her actions there would have been no treatment for Keprals, no hope for the Drell race. She had a scar for the same reason and he raised his hand to it now, tracing the outline of the wound she’d received on Invictus.

He heard her suck in her breath, eyes closing as he ran his fingers over her ribs. He wanted to coax her closer, longed to taste her again.

“Is there anything else, Siha?” he prompted, keeping his hand on her skin.

Shepard closed her eyes and tilted her head back before speaking again. “I love it when you touch me. I love the taste of your kiss and the things it does to me. I love the noise you make when I touch you.”

His mind skipped inevitably back to the moment earlier when she had touched him properly for the first time in weeks and he heard the same noise in his ears now, mixing with his memories and leaving him painfully aroused.

He felt her lips on his neck and was snatched back to the present moment, unable to stop himself from keening beneath her velvety touch.

“That noise,” she said, a hint of longing in her voice. “And the other one.”

He felt her hands take his cock and he made the noise she spoke of, the deep rolling growl that she had once said reminded her of a cat. He hadn’t been entirely displeased with the comparison and right now he didn’t care as long as she kept touching him.

“I love the feel of you inside me,” she moaned softly, rubbing his length with strong, rhythmic, strokes that set him quivering. “And I love the way you look when you come.”

She let go of his cock and pushed him backwards on the bed, his hips lifting involuntarily as she took him into her warm mouth.

He had wanted to tell her all the things he loved about her, from the mess of hair on her head to the heat of her when he slid inside her, but she took all of his words and scattered them with the darting sweeps of her tongue.

One hand held the base of his cock tightly and the other curved under him so that he was held tightly in her mouth no matter how much he bucked beneath her.

Shepard sucked him harder and he cried her name, twisting helplessly as she suckled at him until there was nothing but the heat and the need and the knowledge that he was going to break beneath her.

She gave a small, sweet, moan and he climaxed with a rush of sensation that left him utterly spent, twitching with aftershocks as she sucked delicately at the tip of him before swallowing.

Everything in the room seemed brighter and he watched in wonder as his Siha lifted her face to look at him, her eyes impossibly dark in the shadows. She crawled slowly up the bed to lie beside him, resting her head on his chest.

Thane roused himself enough to rub his fingers through her hair, kissing her lightly on the forehead. “Thank you. That was most…enlightening.”

Shepard laughed, a gasp of sound that twisted into a sob. He felt her convulse against him and struggled to draw himself up, desperate to look upon her.

“Siha? What is wrong?” he asked, shuffling himself down the bed so that they were lay face to face. “Please, you have to tell me.”

She looked at him, despair plain across her face. He should have seen this coming, he had known there was something different about her earlier but it was so much easier to pretend everything was going to be fine.

“Thane…I…what if I don’t come back? This war, this fucking war is taking everything from me. It tried to take you and I stopped it,” she sobbed, burying in closer. “I don’t have much left to give. And I still can’t stop them, none of us can. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

Shepard looked at him, weighing something up. He wondered what it was she wanted to say that was causing her such distress, consuming her with the weight of it. Then she blinked and looked away, and he knew.

“Unless the weapon works,” she said. “The weapon none of knew about until now. The weapon the Reapers made.”

Thane lay stunned, knowing that this would be the memory he picked over in whatever time left and willing himself to say something. But what she needed from him was something very different, not more devastation to add to her tally but acceptance of the inevitable.

“And if it doesn’t?” he said, his fingers stilling on her shoulder.

“Then we all die.”

She tucked her head under his chin, the shuddering of her chest drawing to a stop. “This sea you spoke of. Kalahira. The afterlife. If I go first, how will I find you? Does it even work for humans?”

“Kalahira, Mistress of Inscrutable Depths, will guide you to wherever you have need to be. Your species is of no consequence once the final tally is made. All that you are does not depend on what category you fit into but in your deeds, in the qualities of your soul. Kalahira will be merciful upon you, for you are deserving. And when my time comes, as it must, I pray that I will be found worthy and delivered to you wherever the tides carry us. Do not be afraid my Siha. I will be with you. At the end.”

“At the end,” she repeated, the distress replaced by a resolute finality. “Then I’ll try not to be afraid when it comes.”

She fell asleep in his arms and Thane held onto her, afraid that sleep would steal him away and rob him of their night together. She was going to leave him, he knew that now. He owed her this at least, to watch over her through the dark hours of their final night together.


	7. Duty

It was three days before they had any word from her. Three days of numbing tension as they waited for her to return. She had given them explicit instructions not to follow her, and they had just about managed that, though some had handled it better than others.

Garrus had spent the entire time in the shuttle bay with Thane pacing beside him, both of them waiting for an excuse to go and find her.

When the shuttle finally returned it contained not the Shepard he remembered but something else, a creature of blood and rage. Every inch of her armour was covered in gore. She held onto her gun as though she would never be parted from it, her face a blank mask. It was her eyes that gave everything away.

“EDI, get us out of here,” Shepard ordered. She did not spare a glance for her concerned crew.

“Shepard, what the hell happened down there?” Garrus asked. He reached out and touched her arm, only to be met with a look of irritation that forced him to withdraw.

“I’m fine. Get the hell away from me,” she snapped, striding towards the door.

Thane followed her without question, silent as the doors of the elevator closed behind him.

“I’m not going to be much fun tonight,” she said quietly, looking over her gun. “I’d stay away, if I were you.”

The doors opened and Shepard stepped out with Thane still following. She headed straight into her room, set her gun on the desk, and reached for the unopened bottle of brandy.

Thane had never seen her drink before, knew that she hated the loss of control, but now it looked to be exactly what she needed.

Shepard twisted the top off and drank straight from the bottle, took a series of deep gulps then slammed it down in front of her. The drink dribbled slightly from the corner of her mouth, leaving a streak across her bloodied face.

“Siha?”

“Thane.” She opened her eyes and looked at him, taking a deep breath. “Why are you still here?”

“Because you need me.”

“What I need is to be on my own. Please leave.”

“No.” He watched her as he said it, gauged the shifting muscles of her body and the flickering of her eyes.

She cleared her throat. “I see I need to make myself clearer. Get out.”

“You cannot make me leave, siha.”

“I’m not playing this game with you,” she said quietly, glancing away from him. He saw her intention in that small movement and brought his shield up in time to deflect the blow she dealt him, a glancing blast from her biotics.

“I said get out,” Shepard growled, lifting her glowing fist up in front of her. “Please.”

Thane returned the favour, aiming just shy of her and knocking the bottle from the desk. It landed on the floor with a heavy thud and started to spill its contents.

That seemed to do the trick. Shepard flew at him, a glowing purple mass as she lashed out with every limb. He knew how she fought and deflected each blow with ease, allowing her to drive him backwards.

“I will not leave you,” he said, dodging carefully around her and pulling away.

Shepard gave a moan and dropped down onto her bed. She buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders heaved as she gave a dry sob.

“Siha,” Thane said softly, reaching out to touch her bowed head.

She unfurled before he could even register what had happened, finding his feet lifted from the floor as she caught him in a biotic field and trapped him, leaving him suspended in the air.

“I warned you,” she said, lifting him higher. “And now we’re going to play this my way.”

She threw him against the bed, charged across the room in a blinding purple flash and landed heavily on top of him. The weight of her in full armour knocked the breath from him. Thane saw a flicker of doubt cross her face as she reached for something, pressing her hands to his wrists.

There was a tingle across his sensitive skin, a small crackle in the air. He’d seen biotic cuffs used on criminals at C-Sec and knew there was no escaping from them once they were locked. Shepard had him trapped.

She glanced down at his face then stood up over him, pinning his legs with a lazy flick of her biotics.

Without a word Shepard started pulling off her armour, throwing it onto the floor beside the bed, until she was down to her skin tight undersuit. That she wrenched off with a practised slide, stepping out of it before lowering herself onto him.

She was completely naked. Her face still bloodied. Thane couldn’t help the small rumble that escaped him at the sight of her on his lap, and the pressure of her through the thin fabric of his suit, her warmth penetrating through to his skin.

“Siha,” he murmured, bucking his hips.

Shepard ignored him, pulling a flick knife from her bedside drawer and starting to cut through his clothes. He felt the cold prick of the blade sliding across his skin, catching his breath at the expectation of pain and exhaling as she stripped him without leaving a single mark.

Now he could feel her heat against him and he rose to greet her, the need throbbing through his body.

Shepard looked at him for a moment, the blade still in her hand. She threw it to one side and crawled up his body to dip her tongue into his mouth. He opened his lips willingly to the scald of her kiss, felt her fingertips trailing down his body down to where he burned hardest for her.

She sat back, lips parted, and with her eyes closed she lowered herself onto his aching cock with devastating slowness.

Thane arched against the restraints, longing to force her downwards yet still she taunted him, her back arched and her breasts thrust forwards, as she slid onto the yearning thickness of him and down until he was buried in the heat of her.

She rose again, a slick movement that drew a whimper from his lips, only to repeat the same torturous process again and again.

Every sweep of her hips made him cry out, every upwards surge catching his flesh and drawing his orgasm closer whilst her lingering pace held it back.

Thane was utterly at her mercy, broken with the need for her and her refusal to give him the release he craved. She rode him with her eyes closed and her head tilted backwards, strong legs flexing as she lowered herself up and down without a word.

The curve of her body on his, the red slit of her flesh opening to him and the look on her face threatened to tilt him over the edge. But she still hadn’t returned to him, not his siha. This was still something else, created by her need to feel something other than rage.

“Siha,” he gasped, rocking his hips up into her. “Please.”

Shepard opened her eyes and her gaze found his. “Thane,” she whispered, curling over him. “Thane.”

Her eyes never left his as she quickened her pace, pressing her body into his with quick hard thrusts that made both of them call out.

Thane felt her mouth on his, felt her gather herself up for one last moment before driving herself onto him with every bit of strength she still possessed. He heard her cry out, felt the warmth of her settle on his chest as he came with a fluttering cry.

Shepard’s body still clenched onto his and knew he had her back, had pulled her back from the shadows into the safety of his arms. He was the only one who could do this for her, follow the tide of her rage and find her washed up on the other side.

For she was his siha and this was his duty, his privilege, his pledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My soundtrack for this was 'Over and over' by Hot Chip


	8. Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find the second part of this prompt here http://archiveofourown.org/works/498408/chapters/971266

The sky raged above them, a seething mass of purple clouds, and Shepard couldn’t help but glance over at Thane.

They’d lost contact with the Normandy over an hour ago and the Drell had been declining rapidly, his eyes shut against the cold that never ceased its assault on them. There was nothing for it. They had to find shelter until the storm was over.

“Thane!” Shepard shouted, struggling to make her voice heard over the screaming wind. “We have to get inside, think you can make it?”

He opened his eyes slowly and nodded, following her footsteps back to the rock face they’d descended earlier.

Shepard brought out her omni-tool and scanned the surrounding area, blinking the snow from her eyes as the scanning programme returned an image of the rock face.

It was showing an opening in the rock face approximately twenty metres to their left. Hopefully it would be enough to keep them sheltered through the worst of it.

Shepard took one last glance at Thane and set off, trying not to dwell on the fact that it was all her fault that he was here in such unsuitable conditions.

She had chosen him for what was supposed to be one of the quickest parts of the mission, picking off mercs whilst Garrus and the others prepared a full frontal assault. After that they were supposed to be meeting the rest of the team in the base ready for extraction, but the plan had gone awry when the weather closed in.

No-body could be extracted from anywhere in this storm and there was no way they’d make it to the base with Thane’s deteriorating state. She knew little about drell biology other than what she’d found skimming the extranet, but she did know that they reacted badly to extreme cold.

Thane looked terrible, stumbling through the snow with his eyes half open. This was her fault. She’d wanted him with her and now he was paying the price.

Shepard found the opening and kicked her way through the snow drift at its entrance, fumbling her torch from the pack on her leg to find a large dark space that stretched at least ten metres back into the cliff. It would serve them, for now.

She scuttled into the darkness and reached for the carefully assembled emergency pack she’d brought with her, snapping a couple of glow sticks and jamming them in place around the cave.

It gave the place a deceptively warm glow and illuminated the true extent of Thane’s condition. He had pulled himself into a ball against the side of the cave, his entire frame juddering as his failing body sought to provide him with some scrap of warmth.

Swearing under her breath Shepard wrenched the sleeping pod from her pack and unrolled it as close to Thane as she could manage, making sure it had inflated before going over to him and gripping his hands tightly in hers.

“Thane? I need you to get in here, it will keep you warm okay?”

He lifted his head and said something unintelligible before trying to climb to his feet. He wavered, stumbling drunkenly to one side, and Shepard was forced to grab hold of him, guiding him the short distance to the pod.

Once there she encouraged him to lift his feet and step into the pod, a two person insulated tent with padding and inflated ribs to hold its shape. It had saved Shepard’s life on more than one occasion, and she always made sure she had one with her, even if it meant buying them with her own money now she worked for Cerberus.

Thane stepped in and Shepard waited until he’d scooted down inside it before crouching down to talk to him.

“I’m going outside to rig up a beacon, I’ll be right back.”

Thane didn’t respond. His eyes fluttered shut.

Shepard swallowed her anxiety back and zipped the pod shut to conserve what little warmth he had left before running outside to set the beacon.

Stood out in the growing darkness, she started to run through their options. Her hands working automatically as her mind raced with thoughts of Thane. With no word from the _Normandy_ , and no imminent chance of rescue, it was up to her to keep him warm as best she could. Standard training had taught her that the best way of doing this was through skin to skin contact.

The thought made her stomach twinge, and she shoved any other thoughts away as she shut the entrance by piling snow in front of it, racing back to the pod where she started flinging her hard suit off.

Once it was stacked neatly on the ground, Shepard unzipped the pod and clambered in, taking care to bring her pistol and another glow stick with her.

Thane looked worse than when she’d left him and when she touched her hands to his chest it was icy cold. He didn’t respond to the touch. Shepard knew she had to act fast, fumbling at the fastenings of his top.

She had imagined this happening in very different circumstances, had dreamt about him and found herself wondering what he looked like under his tight clothes. Idle imaginings had become a deep longing that she had done her best to ignore, though not as well as she might have hoped.

She’d still chosen to have him with her, and it had led to this, a twisted reflection of what she had dared to hope for.

Undressing Thane was challenging as she struggled with his unconscious weight and the ridiculous amount of fastenings he had, all of them hard to do with half numb fingers. At least the effort was keeping her warm, she thought, hefting his trousers down and kicking the last of his clothing down into the bottom of the pod to keep their feet warm.

Thane was finally naked. That just left Shepard. She did her best to slide out of her warm undersuit in the confined space and even after her efforts the air was bitterly cold as she exposed her naked skin to the air.

Teeth chattering, Shepard zipped the pod up and lay down next to Thane, closing her eyes as she started to press herself against him.

She burrowed her leg under his and threw her other one over his hip, shuffling closer to press herself against his chest and tuck her head in under his chin. Once she was in position Shepard slipped her arm under his and placed her hand on the small of his back, rubbing slow circles over his skin.

There was nothing but the cold rasp of his skin against hers, and the weak thrum of his heart against her ear, a faint echo that drew all her focus as she willed it to keep beating.

Her breath started to warm the air. After a little while Shepard found that her goose bumps had finally receded, warmth starting to curl through her flesh where she was pressed against the unconscious form of the assassin.

This was not where she had expected to end the day, naked in the arms of a large humanoid reptile that killed people for a living. She couldn’t deny that she’d thought about it though.

His skin was smoother than she’d expected, his scales slipping easily beneath her fingertips, and he had much softer skin running down his abdomen and between his legs. Shepard squinted her eyes tight shut, perfectly aware of what she could feel against her as she nuzzled her nose into his chest.

He smelt of warm grass, and sunshine, and something else that she couldn’t identify, a musky scent that reminded her of nights she’d spent in the desert training.

She knew she was going to suffer for this every day from now on, tormented by the memory of his scent and his hard body against hers. It was her own richly deserved punishment for being such a fool and bringing him here to this unsuitable planet.

Shepard sighed, the throb of his heartbeat sounding in her ears as she finally slipped into her dreams.

\---

The warmth reached him and he reached back, pressing his body against the source of comfort that radiated through him. He tried to recall where he was, but sleep kept its grip on his mind, leaving only a lazy urge to gather the warmth closer.

Soft skin slipped against his, and Thane tightened his grip, desire flaring from its long dormant state. He’d felt it stir within him and had managed to subjugate it with meditation and exercise, pressing the incomprehensible need he’d felt back into silence.

The idea of being attracted to a human felt strange, and he had sought to ignore it, even when it seemed as though Shepard was actively looking for his company.

In drell culture such liaisons were common place, as long as neither was attached and both were of consenting age it was seen as entirely normal. Humans, however, preferred to add complications to something as natural as the body expressing its own needs.

Thane felt the low purr of desire in his inflamed throat, his hands moving to trace the form against him.

The warmth was a warning in itself. Thane opened his eyes and found himself looking down at Shepard, naked and tangled around him with her head burrowed against his chest.

Worry and surprise pierced through the haze of lust, and he lay completely still, taking a deep breath and trying to quell the vibration in his chest.

Shepard stirred, murmuring something as she pressed herself closer. Her hand moved to his hip, and the hand pressed against his chest flexed, fingertips brushing against his skin.

“Shepard?”

She groaned, arched her back and pressed her hips hard against his as she started to stretch against him. The pressure of her there was unbearably sensuous, her legs parted and open to him.

Thane heard himself rumble louder, knew there was no way that he could disguise his growing excitement at her touch, and he felt himself panic at the exposure of his need for her. She had obviously been taking steps to warm him, and he had no wish to take advantage of her selfless gesture by imposing upon her.

She yawned, shifting her head on his chest. “What’s that?” she asked softly.

He was at a loss for words, willing himself to pull away but finding himself bound to her warmth.

“That noise,” she said, holding him tighter. “It sounds like purring. Cats make the same noise when they’re happy. Oh.”

Thane sought to fill the uncomfortable silence, knowing exactly what she had noticed. “I have yet to see or hear a cat. Drell make the same noise when they are comfortable. You are very… warm.”

Shepard sighed, her hand moving slowly from his hip and down over his back. He heard his own traitorous body respond to the gesture and realised that there was no denying his attraction to her. It was far too obvious for that.

She moved her head from his chest and looked up at him in the last traces of light. Her expression was unreadable. “It sounds like the storm still hasn’t broken. We could be here for a while.”

There was doubt in her voice and questioning, her eyebrows raised as she looked at him.

“Thank you for… keeping me warm Shepard. Drell are highly susceptible to the cold. If you wish I am happy to get dressed.”

“No,” she replied quickly, frowning. She buried her head back down again and said “This is the most efficient way of keeping warm; it doesn’t make any sense to get dressed now.”

He’d felt her slight gasp for breath, and he also felt the race of her heart against his, her nipples changing texture against his chest. He knew little about human females, but he knew enough to interpret this.

“There are other ways of keeping warm,” he said lightly, keeping still.

Shepard half laughed, caught her breath and moved ever so slightly against him.

Thane moved his hand lower over her back, traced the curve of her spine and the roundness of her buttocks. Her heart rate increased, and he felt her grind into him, desire promptly unleashing itself.

“Show me,” Shepard whispered, gripping his hip and lifting her head to his.

Her mouth was an open invitation, the splay of her legs calling him in. He didn’t hesitate in his attention to her, kissing her warm human mouth and moving his hand under her to explore the odd folds of flesh he found between her legs.

Drell females had everything neatly inside them, completely unlike Shepard’s warm wet skin. He let his fingers play over her until she gasped, her hips jerking forward as he found a small nub of flesh and started to draw his fingertips across it.

Her reaction was intoxicating, her soft human body flexing rhythmically against him and a moan seeping into his mouth that he returned with a growl.

He felt Shepard roll against him, forcing him on his back as she sat astride him. The close confines of the pod gave her no choice but to lie flush against him. Thane pulled her hips forward so that her wet skin was pulled over his cock, sliding along him until his tip sat just between her folds.

Shepard gave a broken gasp and kissed him harder, her hands trailing up his chest and onto the exquisitely tender skin of his neck. He hadn’t been touched there in so long that the sensation was almost painful in its intensity, his growl rippling into a full throated cry of pleasure.

She replaced her fingertips with her hot tongue, and Thane felt what little composure he still had splinter into nothing, rolling over to trap Shepard beneath him in one swift movement.

She whimpered and thrust her hips towards him, her hands distracting him from exploring the new territory of her body. Thane grasped them, holding them down beside her head as he brushed his lips across her mussed hair and down over her mouth, licking her lips then moving slowly down to her neck.

This would have excited any drell female but Shepard’s breathing remained at its current pace, and he realised quickly that he was missing something. Humans didn’t have the sensitive ridges at their neck, but they did have breasts, mounds of soft flesh that he’d never seen the point of despite the Asari’s overabundance in that regard.

Thane let go of Shepard’s hands and touched the closest breast, his fingers tracing the curve up and over the circle of her nipple. The effect was instantaneous, her cry filling the air as he started playing with them both.

She squirmed beneath him, panting and arching her back, and he watched the familiar face of Commander Shepard change into something else, lost in the lust that was overwhelming her. He took her nipple in his mouth and her strained voice cried out his name, not a harsh order or polite enquiry, but a plea for more, a longing gasp of sound that undid him.

He plunged into her, and the hot clench of sensation almost brought him to the brink, his breath ragged as he sought to control himself. Shepard wrapped her legs tightly around him, and he gave in to the rising desperation, slamming into her with wild sweeps of his hips.

She said his name again. Thane half sat up, lifting her up against him. Shepard flailed her arms, and there was a sudden gust of cold air as she ripped through the pod so that they could sit up, her legs still clamped around him.

The change in temperature did nothing; his body doused in heat as he lifted Shepard easily against him and drove into her, the sweet warmth of her lips finding his. Her fingers resumed their torture of the skin at his neck, and he found his grip faltering, doubling over and dropping Shepard to the floor.

Shepard whimpered at the loss of contact, her eyes wide and dark as she looked up at him. She glanced around, licking her lips, then snatched up Thane’s coat and put it on, rolling herself easily back on top of him.

He submitted without complaint, lying back in the tatters of the pod as Shepard slid herself easily onto him and started to rock her hips in a lazy rhythm that he felt crawling through his spine and across every inch of his skin.

The sight of her, naked save for his coat, her breasts bouncing with every thrust was one that would torment him every time he slipped his arms into his coat.

Thane felt his cock clasped in the wet heat of her, felt the drag of his skin against hers, and he started to fall, grabbing hold of her hips and pulling her tight against him as he rose into her for the last time.

Shepard threw her head back. The heat of her clenched around him and he felt her crumple to his chest as she burnt him up and left him shaking beneath her.

He’d never felt anything like it, the waves of pleasure still rippling through his body and into hers with every throbbing growl that shook him, wrapping his arms tightly around her in a bid to sustain the moment.

She sighed in his arms, tucking her head under his chin just as she had when she’d been sleeping. She fit perfectly against him, and Thane wondered if he’d made a mistake allowing himself to give in to his desires, lust clouding the unavoidable truth that he was dying. He had no future to offer anyone.

Shepard stiffened, and Thane tensed instinctively as she sat up and looked at her hand. Her omni-tool was winking orange, bright in the fading darkness of the cave.

“The beacon,” she said, looking at the display. “They’ve found us.”

Shepard looked at him, her hand still on his chest. She opened her mouth to say something. A low roar started to fill the air, alerting both of them to the fact that they were still very much joined.

She sprang off him, and Thane lamented the loss of contact instantly, the freezing air nipping at his freshly exposed cock. Shepard moved the fastest he’d ever seen, snapping another glow stick before scrambling through the wreck of the pod to find their clothes.

She threw his clothes at him then flicked her undersuit out in front of her, starting into it then stopping.

“Your coat,” she said, shucking it off and holding it out carefully.

It was filled with her warmth. Thane took it gratefully, noting the way she bit her lip as she turned from him and finished dressing at speed.

The roar outside grew louder and snow started to pepper down onto them from the ceiling, chunks of ice falling onto the ruined pod.

Shepard finished snapping her armour on then crouched next to it, attempting to roll it up. After a second she gave up and snatched it up into a bundle that she gathered against her side before starting towards the exit, collecting fading glow sticks as she went.

Thane found the exit and pressed gingerly through the snow. The cold air outside offered an unwelcome greeting.

Shepard followed, not looking at him as they stood and watched the shuttle come into land beside them.

Thane couldn’t help a last glance at the dark entrance to the cave, already partly obscured by falling snow. He knew he would dwell in there for some time whenever the opportunity presented itself, losing himself in the darkness and the unexpected warmth that Shepard had offered him.

\---

The doors shut, and Shepard felt the heat envelope her, sitting back in the chair with a sigh.

“EDI, what happened to the others?” she asked, guilt stabbing at her when she realised that she hadn’t spared a thought for any of them. There had only been Thane, his cold skin and then his stirring against her, soft skin hardening and hot.

“Garrus and the others were retrieved a short while ago. They reported their mission to be a success, but did express worry for your condition,” EDI replied.

“We’re fine,” Shepard said, glancing over at Thane. The experience didn’t seem to have affected him.

He looked over at her, half slumped in his seat. Shepard felt her heart rate kick up at the mere sight of him. She couldn’t quite believe what had happened, but the increasing irritation of her skin and the aching throb between her legs was a welcome reminder.

She’d never been fucked like that and probably wouldn’t be again. It had been something of an unusual situation. Unless she was waking up next to Thane everyday it seemed unlikely that the opportunity would present itself. And yet…

Shepard closed her eyes, remembering his tongue on her neck, and his skin pushing into hers. He’d been willing, as she had. Perhaps she could convince him again, preferably somewhere warmer.

She was still thinking about it when the shuttle returned to the _Normandy_. Shepard got slowly to her feet, wincing at the stinging of her skin beneath the fabric of her suit.

Thane waited until they’d come to a half before standing beside her. The closeness of him made her suck in her breath with an audible hiss, catching his attention.

He looked intently at her and reached out with one hand. Shepard leant in, all pain forgotten.

The door opened and bright light spilled over them, revealing a worried Garrus and a fretting Mordin.

“Shepard,” Thane said, his hands now folded behind his back as though he’d never reached for her.

“Thane,” Shepard replied, dragging her gaze from him. The moment had gone.

 


End file.
